Living life 90 Minutes at a Time

Well, I am officially over 2 weeks into motherhood, and things are going great! Andy, Eric, Patton, Lola and I are all adjusting well.

A lot of people are asking how the puppies are handling the new addition. Lola licked Andy on the head, realized he wasn't food for her to eat and quickly lost interest.  Patton wants Andy to play with him, so he will come up while we are holding Andy and start nudging him with his nose, and licking him... hoping for him to play back. I tried to tell him he had to wait a few months. Patton also gets REALLY concerned if Andy starts crying... Patton will go to the bassinet or pack n play and try to get to Andy (I am assuming to try and comfort him) or if we are holding him, Patton will come get by us and look at us like we are doing something wrong!  However, I do think they may be a little jealous. After all, Andy gets to eat every 3 hours, whereas they only get to eat twice a day. I catch myself constantly asking Andy if he's hungry, and Lola and Patton perk up.. only to be disappointed that there is no food in their immediate future...

Well little Andy is a hungry little gremlin and per pediatricians orders must be fed every 3 hours. Now, that is every 3 hours from start of his first feeding, to the start of the next feeding.  Well, let me tell you that is a LOT of feeding! Which does not leave a lot of time for mommy... The full process of Andy's average feeding is a hour and a half... which means I have been living my life 90 minutes at a time between feedings.  Basically I can get one thing accomplished between feedings...

Here is an example of an average day for me... (which is funny, because feeding every 3 hours where do you really start your day? For consistency's sake we can start my day at 5:30... the same time Eric starts his day)
- Feed the baby
- Let the dogs out, feed them
- Short nap
- Feed again...
- eat breakfast
- take a shower if there is time
- Feed the baby
- Find something to eat for lunch
- Another baby feeding
- Wash all the clothes Andy has peed on in the last 24 hours
- Feed Andy again
- Spend some quality time with the hubs/ eat dinner
- Feed the baby
 - Sleep
- Feed the baby again
- Sleep
- Feed the baby
- Sleep

It really doesn't leave much time to get anything done! My life now completely revolves around baby's feeding times... I suppose eventually he will eat less frequently, but until then this is my life! I sneak naps in when I can, but usually once I'm up in the morning, I'm up for the day... Who knew doing so little could be so exhausting?!?!

But we are all doing great, having fun and little Andy is growing like a weed already! :) I will try to post more pictures tomorrow... maybe instead of eating lunch ;)

Our House Grew by Two Feet!

If you haven't already heard, our little boy arrived on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 12:59 pm. He weighed 5 lbs 14 oz and was 18 3/4" long. And he is perfect!

I never really thought I would enjoy the infant stage of motherhood, since all those little boogers do is eat, sleep and poop, but I am absolutely LOVING it! Andy is an amazing little cuddler and I could spend all day on the couch just cuddling with him and admiring how freaking cute he is!

And I know most mom's are partial and think their kid is cute, but for real I have a ridiculously beautiful kid. Thanks to my nutritionist, who loaded me down with ridiculous amounts of fish oil, he has perfect skin, and hair, and his head wasn't funky and cone shaped for very long. He has had daddy's lips and chin, and even though he was 4 weeks early, he was very proportional and not super skinny and lanky. He's pretty freaking cute.

Don't believe me? Check these out:

Initial Impression Teal Baby Announcements

Shutterfly cards for Valentine's Day, Easter & Father's Day.

View the entire collection of cards.

Baby Shower Pics

So I figured it would be easiest just to import all the pictures from the awesome baby shower that Lisa, Hannah, Chrissie, Lauren and Sallie threw for me!!!

Enjoy!

Nursery Pictures!

You have begged and pleaded, and my fabulous mother in law finally came to the rescue with a cord that would connect my camera to the computer!

Take a peek around the room that Andy will soon call home!

There are stil a few more things to do. The quilt I made for the queen size bed is still at the quilters, so as soon as I get that back I will post pictures. Also, the quilt that my mom made (that is folded and in the crib) is going to hang on the wall, but I still have to get the quilt hangers for that! Get excited... it's coming along nicely!

I will try to post shower pics soon :)

Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!

I figured since today is Labor Day it would be appropriate that I post an update. No, I'm not in labor yet, but we are definitely getting down to the wire - 37 days until my due date! This weekend we have worked hard to get a LOT done in preparation for the little one's arrival!

The Nursery
The Nursery is pretty much completed. Eric helped hang up the letters on the wall and the curtains, we have the bedding all set up and everything is organized, at least for now! All that is left to do is hang the baby quilt on the wall (I still need to get a quilt hanger... minor detail), and the full size quilt for the bed in the room is at the quilter's. Once I get those two things done, the nursery will be officially complete!

Downstairs
We also put together the pack n' play, and baby Clara Mae came over and tried it out for us! Our swing is put together and working, and the changing table for downstairs is put together and ready to go with wipes, diapers, etc.

Hospital Bag
I figured Labor day would be an appropriate day to pack the bag for the hospital. However, there are certain things that I want to take to the hospital that I don't want to pack until go-time (makeup, camera, pillows, etc.).

Showers
I had a shower in Houston last weekend that was fabulous! My BFFs, Lisa, Hannah, Sallie, Chrissie and Lauren did a great job! The shower was at the Houston Arboretum, which is beautiful if you've never been there and had the chance to walk around. They hooked me up with gluten-free goodness, and we had plenty of cookies, cupcakes and cake leftover to much on for a few days! The shower was amazing and it was great to get to see all of the friends and family that made it out to celebrate baby Andy!!!

Yay for actually being somewhat prepared for labor!  I will try to post pictures of the nursery and baby shower soon!

What Dreams May Come....

So for anyone that watches True Blood, I have a theory that perhaps Sookie is pregnant... because some of her dreams are shaping up very similar to the dreams of a pregnant lady!
Let me just tell you, for those that don't know... Pregnant ladies dream like crazy... and about the weird, random, scary, sexy, you name it, I've probably dreamed it in the last 33 weeks!

Here are a few examples for you:

1. The Tasty Dream: So the other night I dream that I ate an entire box of Haagen Dazs Vanilla Milk Chocolate Almond Crunch bars... These to be exact:

And they were delicious! I think only 3 or 4 come in a box, so in reality, a pregant woman eating an entire box of them is not that far fetched... The funny part was, when I woke up for a much needed bathroom break I swear I could still taste the ice cream. I had to look around to make sure I didn't accidentally drive to the grocery store, buy some ice cream and eat it in my sleep! I never found any wrappers, so I think I'm in the clear...

2. The Ex-Boyfriend Dream: Seriously... even boyfriends that you may have forgotten about will pop up in your dreams! That boy that you held hands with in the 5th grade for like a total of 2 days? Yup, he'll be there.. That guy that was your 'boyfriend' at church camp until your brother scared him away... yup, he'll be there too! That guy that you spent years trying to forget, burning photographs, concert tickets, t-shirts, any memorabelia that reminds you of him, most definitely he will be in your dreams... It was a little disconcerning at first when I kept dreaming about all these 'ghosts of boyfriend's past', until I realized that this is apparently extremely common... so sorry, dear husbands, I hope you aren't jealous... but for some reason when your wife is pregant, she will most definitely dream of her exes...

3. Speaking of Men: And the men you are dreaming of, they are not necessarily always an ex... expect random appearances from that guy who sat 3 rows in front of you and to the left in your college Accounting class, or maybe Eric Northman will make an appearance (or several), a co-worker, a boss, or even a friend's husband or boyfriend (yeah, that's a weird one).  I think this is our body's way of reassuring us when we wake up, that we made the right decision in spousal selection... because that guy from my accounting class ends up is a really bad husband... at least in my dreams! And since i mentioned this guy earlier, I figure I should add a picture:

4. My baby isn't a baby dream: I was warned about these dreams, giving birth to a parakeet, or rabbit or whatever... and I've only really had two experiences so far.. The week before we found out the gender of our baby, I dreamed that we went in for the ultrasound.  When the ultrasound tech tried to find out the gender of the baby, we weren't able to tell because the little baby was wearing a bear costume in the womb. We tried to talk baby into taking the costume off, but apparently he was too modest...

In the other dream, I actually had the baby, but he was really early. He had to go to the NICU because he was not able to regulate his temperature, so I didn't get to see him right away. They finally let me go into the NICU to see him, and when I looked at him, he looked like a King Ranch Casserole with eyes, a nose and mouth! The doctor still wasn't able to regulate his temperature, so they put him in the oven, so he could get warm. (I think I may have been hungry this night!!!)

5. Breastfeeding Nighmares: As of late, I have started having some just plain weird breastfeeding dreams... In one of them, the baby went to nurse but when I looked down the had a crocodile mouth! Ouch!! (That dream may also be catagorized in the my baby is not a baby catagory!)

In another dream, I dreamed again that for some reason (I think possibly because we went to Lake City on vacation), I was not able to nurse for the first 5 days. While I was gone the nurses gave the baby formula and I was devistated! By the time I got to see the baby, he refused to nurse and all he wanted was the formula. I was so upset that my baby didn't want me (for the record, I am not a nursing nazi - I have no problem with mothers who elect not to breast feed).

6. My boy is a girl dreams: So just recently I had a dream where I ended up having the baby at home, and it ended up being a girl! I have had multiple sonograms that have confirmed boy, but it still freaks me out a little, since my mom was told that I was going to be a boy! I didn't really freak out in the dream, I was actually pretty excited and had plenty of spare girl clothes on hand... go figure! Oh, but after I had the baby we thought it would be a good idea to go to the hospital... but Eric hadn't installed the carseat yet, so mom held the carseat in the backseat while we drove to the hospital...

7. Labor and Delivery - Okay, well I haven't had any of these yet, and I'm only 7 weeks away... but I'm sure they are coming... and I'm pretty prepared for them...

Anyway, when I am able to sleep, and when I can remember my dreams, it has been pretty entertaining to try and explain them to the hubs. Sometimes he laughs, somtimes he looks at me like I'm a crazy person, and sometimes he tries to explain them away. I'm thinking about putting a pen and paper beside my bed so I can write down some of the crazy dreams I have before I forget!

Bed Rest Blues

Well for those of you that didn't hear, I was put on bed rest last Monday due to high blood pressure and elevated proteinuria.

A little bit of doctor talk for you, since I have lupus I am actually at an increased risk for preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is basically pregnancy induced hypertension along with increased protein in the urine. It can be very dangerous for both mom and baby, and really the only way to 'treat' it completely is to deliver the baby. (Obviously it is still a bit early for that.) My doctor has been following my pregnancy very closely and keeping a  close eye on my blood pressure and protein levels. He was a little concerned because last week I had a few high blood pressure readings, and so he ordered a 24 hour urine. When those results came back and showed elevated proteinurea, he became more concerned and put me on bed rest and asked me to monitor my blood pressure 4 times a day and repeat the 24 hour urine.

I will say, that I stayed mostly busy during the days because I continued to work from home, since my job allows that flexibility (which I am extremely grateful for). But laying around in bed or on the couch all day every day can be extremely frustrating! 

First of all, it's hard to keep your blood pressure down when you have all day and night to lay in bed and google "preeclampsia". Of course you read the worst of the worst stories, which leave you convinced that you are going to end up with all sorts of complications during the remainder of your pregnancy... stupid Google should not be allowed during pregnancy!

Also, it is very difficult to lay on your couch and not get up, when you know there is so much to do around the house! It's also very difficult to concentrate on getting work done, when there is unfolded laundry staring you in the face just DARING you to get up, go over there and FOLD IT!!! The day before I was put on bed rest I had washed all of Andy's clothes, recieving blankets, etc. I had not put them up yet, and so I knew they were all upstairs, folded, sitting on Andy's bed. But I also knew that if I dared get up, go upstairs and put them away not only would my doctor be mad at me, but I'm pretty sure my husband would have somehow found a way to chain me to the couch so I could never get up again!!!!

Speaking of my dear husband, our sunday school class is about to start a study on the 5 Love Languages. Well, early in the week we took a survey to determine what our love language is. Mine is Acts of Service.  Eric was definitely going above and beyond when it came to acts of service this week. He had to do the laundry, clean the kitchen, cook, go grocery shopping, take out the trash, take care of the puppies, listen to me whine and complain about not being able to get off the couch, all while I just laid there and asked him to refill my glass of water. He was a MAJOR trooper and gets mad props for being the best husband ever!

I will say the bed rest had its perks. I had some lovely visitors come by to see me, including precious Charlotte and her mommy Chrissie. I also got in a lot of naps, which kept me rested  and happy!! Also, we have now completed a project for Andy's room - letters that we are going to hang on his wall.

I say 'we' because basically I did the polka dots on the "N" and then nagged Eric enough until the did the rest of the letters! He is WAY more talented and patient than I am!!!!  I am so excited about getting these up on the wall in the nursery. They are going to look AMAZING!!!

I went back to the OB on Friday, and he has taken me off bedrest and has told me basically just to take it VERY easy and stay off my feet as much as possible. Hopefully the bed rest is done until little Andy arrives. I will have weekly appointments now and have to do a 24 hour urine every week until I deliver... so THAT will be tons of fun..

I did finally put up those close in Andy's room on Saturday, and even ventured out of the house to the grocery store yesterday, sunday school today, and our childbirth class this afternoon.

We were supposed to go up to Spring this morning because sweet Clara Mae was baptised, but we thought with the childbirth class from 2:30-7:30 it was in my best interest to stay in Pearland and take it easy early afternoon before the class. I am glad I stayed because after we got home from Sunday School I literally napped until it was pretty much time to go to class. I'm hoping I get to see her soon though!!

This week will be another crazy busy week. I plan on going into work on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and working from home on Tuesday/Thursday.  Also, my work is throwing me a shower on Friday, my good friends are throwing me a shower on Saturday and my Sunday School class is throwing me a baby shower on Sunday, so I will be super busy! I can't wait to get to see all my friends and family!!! I am just overwhelmed with how kind and generous everyone has been while we prepare for little Andy's arrival!